Procurement

Professional Services
Cost Basis Approval

Note: If your firm is Cost Basis Approved and does not appear on this list, please contact the Bureau of Professional Services.

The bureau also issues approval letters to all firms. While every effort is made to keep the web site up to date, this signed letter is to be accepted as official approval for all contracting purposes in the event that a firm does not appear on the web site.

Cost Basis Approval packages must be submitted at a minimum, seven (7) business days prior to any proposal submission date to allow for proper review and approval of the package.

Failure to meet this time requirement may result in rejection of a consultant's technical proposal for not being cost basis approved for a solicitation.

To become prequalified with the Department of Transportation, your
firm must receive Cost Basis Contracting Approval by completing
the questionnaire above.

Cost basis approval is part of the prequalification process and is required for both prime and sub-consultants.

A sub-consultant is any college, university, individual, firm, or business
who, for a negotiated fee, renders "professional services"
needed to develop or maintain the multi-modal transportation network
in NJ, when submitted as part of a prime consultant's technical proposal.
A "professional service" is described under N.J.S.A. 45:8-28(b)(rtf 49k). All entities rendering such service
as defined, are sub-consultants. All sub-consultants require Cost Basis
Approval as of the closing date of the solicitation.

All entities submitted as part of the prime consultant's technical proposal that will not render or offer "professional services" as
defined in the statute do not require Cost Basis Approval because they are not sub-consultants.

To obtain approval, your project accounting system must reconcile with
your financial accounting system and must be capable of segregating
and accumulating both direct and indirect costs on an individual project
basis. It should also provide for identification and segregation of
costs considered unallowable by the federal acquisition regulations.
(Subpart 31.2 contracts with commercial organizations.

The prequalification questionnaire provides a comprehensive look at your accounting system and must be completed fully with all supporting
documents so that the department will have enough information to be certain that your system meets the requirements. Incomplete questionnaires
cannot be processed for approval.

Where the review indicates that your project accounting system does not meet all of the requirements, you will be advised of what is necessary
to bring your system up to an approved level.

A project accounting system that meets the Departments requirements is also a valuable tool for the consultant in managing resources.
Since approval of your system is essential for prequalification, to avoid any delay in approval, please make sure that all of the items on the
questionnaire are complete and all supporting documents are included with the initial submission.

In addition to the federal regulations, the Departments contracts also classify your employee job titles per the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) grades and the New Jersey Civil Service titles. Please click under primary activities, title reviews, and wage rates.

The Bureau of Auditing reserves the right to audit consulting firms at any time.